Gypsies, Goats and Drama Llamas

Before I begin, I need to thank Marilyn over at The Parks Farm for this award:


I loves me some barnyard critters and coincidentally, the Amazon has suddenly decided she's going to buy a farm and raise goats and chickens, so I see this as a sign from the Universe that I need buy some mud boots and a straw hat.

I could totally rock that look.

In lieu of picking five funny blogs from my list, I encourage all ya'll to browse the sidebar linky list and check out a few... cuz seriously... some of ya'll need to take your act on the road.

And now... on to my senseless blather...

Back when I was barely a teenager, my first taste of real responsibility came when I was offered the job of babysitting my Aunt Rhonda's two girls on Saturday nights. She was the younger, cooler, married-into-the-family aunt, the one who supplemented her waitress job by belly dancing at parties and Parents Without Partners events. She waited tables at the Thalheimers department store restaurant, The Sword and Kilt where.. oddly.. she had to dress as a serving wench, complete with little white bonnet and laced up blouse.. to show off her bosoms... which she was seriously lacking. Now that I think about it, Aunt Rhonda always seemed to be dressed up in some kind of costume.

Anywho.. Aunt Rhonda had that new, wondrous entertainment luxury: cable television. I think we were the last people in the city of Norfolk to get cable, Ma just couldn't wrap her head around having to pay for t.v. I quickly began to look forward to those Saturday nights alone, unsupervised, with HBO and... nekkidness! (and an unprotected cabinet over flowing with liquor, but that's a story for another day.)

I've never forgotten the very first R rated movie I watched on her big, color t.v., with the lights off and a glass of something I wasn't supposed to be drinking. It was "King of the Gypsies," released in 1978, staring Eric Roberts with Brooke Shields, Susan Sarandon, Shelley Winters and just GOBS of other huge stars. I loved that movie and developed a whopper of a crush on Eric Roberts.

My favorite scenes are at the beginning, with dancing in tents, swirling skirts in jewel tones to mandolins and violins... I love that stuff.

I never saw the movie again but I always kept an eye out for it. I don't think it ever came on t.v. and I'm pretty sure no one ever mentioned it. Then... when the Amazon got Netflix, I asked her to look it up. It arrived in our mailbox the other day. I came straight home from work and we sat down to watch it together.

And I still love it.

Ah well.. I'm so glad this week is almost over. I'm fighting the good fight here at the Asylum, trying to keep my fingers in my ears and my head down. We've gotten to the point where the floozy who owns the Grab n' Go (and go and go) is calling up here trying to find out who's getting laid off so she can collect what they owe her and Thelma is blatantly making up shit to tell her, which is getting all over town and putting a wad in everyone's Fruit of the Looms.

Also, it doesn't seem to matter how many times a day I kindly mention to Lulu that I'd really just rather be left out of the loop when the rumors start flying, I was trying to keep a positive outlook, stir up some new business and have faith, she still calls me the minute she hits the door and tells me everything that was said by the gossip mongers across the hall the day before, after I leave for the day.

This morning, after thirty minutes of her talking as hard and as fast as she could, I sort of rudely changed the subject, eventually ending the call, only to have her come over to my cube, lay the daily report on my desk (a report that I RAN by the way.. I already knew what it said) and proceed to tell me how low the numbers were, etc.

Funny how I'm the only one in this whole place that doesn't go to church, yet it seems like I'm the only one trying to hold on to a thread of faith. Maybe I should jump on the bandwagon and go spreading gloom and doom up and down the hall. Is that what they're preachin' these days?

Hmph. It's going to get to a point where I'm going to have to piss people off in order for them to understand that I don't want to follow the herd and wallow in self pity. If that's what it takes, that's what's going to happen.

I'm tired of everyone trying to fart on my happy place.

So there.

It's almost Friday ya'll. Hang in there. We've almost got this one licked.

Later Taters!